Detergent packaged in single dose packs is available for a variety of washing activities, such as clothes laundering and dish washing. The single dose pack provides a pre-measured quantity of detergent that is easy to carry and convenient to use. The single dose pack minimizes over-dosage of detergent and has proven popular with consumers.
Many single dose packs include a wash composition that is encapsulated within a film, where the wash composition includes detergent, solvents, and other components useful for cleaning. Consumers are accustomed to a standard size of single dose pack, so changes in the wash composition that reduce the total volume may be compensated for by increasing the solvent loading to maintain a more constant single dose pack size. However, increases in the solvent loading typically result in degradation of the film over time. The film is typically soluble in water, so increases in the water loading have an increased propensity to degrade the film. Water is one solvent often utilized in single dose packs. In some cases, a single dose pack can fail and produce an unpleasant mess, such as when the single dose pack may become “sticky,” deformed, or otherwise less attractive to a consumer. In some cases, the film can rupture before use. A ruptured single dose pack can contaminate other single dose packs stored in proximity, so an entire container of single dose packs becomes unpleasant to use.
Typically, liquid laundry detergents with high water contents are not encapsulated in water-soluble films to avoid film degradation during storage. The advantages of liquid laundry detergents over granules, pastes, and gels include aesthetic appearance and quicker delivery to and dispersibility of the detergent in a wash liquor, especially in a cool or cold water washing process.
Including additional, organic, solvents in the wash composition also increases the overall size, rigidity, and stability of the single dose pack. The increased size and rigidity results in a single dose pack that is more aesthetically pleasing to handle. Furthermore, increased size and rigidity produces a single dose pack that looks more “full” to consumers, where the single dose pack does not deform or collapse as much during storage. However, some organic solvents may be difficult to process during the manufacture of the wash composition, requiring more energy to store and longer times to dissolve when the unit dose packs are in use. In particular, organic solvents that are solid at room temperature are often handled and transported as hot melts, thus requiring an energy input. Conversely, if these organic solvents are added to the wash composition initially in solid form, they take a longer time to dissolve as compared to liquid solvent additions.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a single dose pack with increased solvent loading where the film remains structurally sound for extended periods, and methods of producing such single dose packs. Additionally, it is desirable to provide such single dose packs and methods that reduce the energy and time required for their manufacture. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, and the foregoing technical field and background.